New York City’s renowned club CBGB is closing its doors, but not before local musician Eben Mallory got to play the famous venue.

Before classes began this semester, Mallory took his music on the road and ended up in NYC.

“The Offspring was playing the same night next door, so we got to hang out with them after the show,” said Mallory, a junior from Basalt, Col.

Mallory said he hopes to widen his own group of fans in Athens with a performance tonight at Starbucks.

He is already a coffeehouse veteran, having played at Cups Coffee Cafe and Aromas, but he’s also played at larger venues like Tasty World.

Between shows, Mallory studies advertising but said he does not plan to ever get into the advertising business, instead counting on music.

“I play music and that’s what I’ll always do and that’s what I’ve always done,” he said. “As soon as I’m – out of school I’ll be back on the road because I miss it and I love it so much.”

He recently professionally recorded his first album, “Against the Background,” in Athens.

The show tonight will be “short and sweet,” and may include some surprises, he said.

“Some of the people that I play music with are hopefully going to show up at Starbucks, so it might not be an entirely acoustic show,” he said.

Students who miss the performance tonight will have other opportunities to see Mallory in concert – he’s not giving up his guitar any time soon.

“Music is so important to me because it can transcend barriers we face in life, whether they are social, cultural, economic, whatever,” Mallory writes on his Web site, www.ebenmallory.com. “Music gives me a purpose in life.”

- Rachel Webster

Playing with Maggie Smith
When: 8 tonight
Where: Starbucks
Price: Free
More Information: www.ebenmallory.com